Method, system, and computer program product for displaying images of conference call participants

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for displaying images of conference call participants. A method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes receiving a call from a user to join a conference call, obtaining a phone number of the user, matching the phone number to a stored graphical representation, and distributing and displaying the matching graphical representation to a predetermined set of users. A voice identification/recognition process can also be used to match the user to a stored graphical representation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to conference calling systems,and more specifically relates to a method, system, and computer programproduct for displaying images of conference call participants.

2. Related Art

Conference calls are a standard method of communication in today'sbusiness environment. A common problem with conference calling is thedetermination of who is participating in the conference call. On manyconference calls, a beep or series of beeps is used to indicate thatsomeone has either joined or dropped the conference call. Someconference calling systems offer the ability for a participant to recorda short message (e.g., name). This recorded message is played when theparticipant joins or exits the conference call. In either of thesecases, the conference call is interrupted with an audio signal (e.g.,beep(s), recorded name), which can be very distracting to theparticipants currently taking part in the conference call. Further, if aparticipant list is needed, the moderator of the conference call muststop and ask, for example, “Who is participating in the call?,” “Whojust joined the call?,” etc. This process takes time and disrupts theflow of the conference call. Also, it is difficult to know exactly howmany participants are actually taking part in the conference call at anygiven time. These problems raise security concerns because it ispossible for an unauthorized person to “listen in” to a conference callwithout the knowledge of the other participants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method, system, and computer programproduct for displaying images of conference call participants.

A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a method fordisplaying images of conference call participants, comprising: receivinga call from a user to join a conference call; obtaining a phone numberof the user; matching the phone number to a stored graphicalrepresentation; and distributing and displaying the matching graphicalrepresentation to a predetermined set of users.

A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a system fordisplaying images of conference call participants, comprising: a systemfor receiving a call from a user to join a conference call; a system forobtaining a phone number of the user; a system for matching the phonenumber to a stored graphical representation; and a system fordistributing and displaying the matching graphical representation to apredetermined set of users.

A third aspect of the present invention is directed to a program productstored on a computer readable medium for displaying images of conferencecall participants, the computer readable medium comprising program codefor performing the steps of: receiving a call from a user to join aconference call; obtaining a phone number of the user; matching thephone number to a stored graphical representation; and distributing anddisplaying the matching graphical representation to a predetermined setof users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative conference calling system.

FIG. 2 depicts the illustrative conference calling system of FIG. 1including a system for displaying images of conference call participantsin accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a process in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a process in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative computer system for implementingembodiment(s) of the present invention.

The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended toportray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intendedto depict only typical embodiments of the invention, and thereforeshould not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In thedrawings, like numbering represents like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An illustrative conference calling system 10 is depicted in FIG. 1. Theconference calling system 10 generally comprises a plurality of clientdevices 12 connected to a conference calling center 14 (e.g., running ona web server) over a communication channel 16. Each client device 12 canbe directly connected to the conference calling center 14 as shown, viaa local server (not shown), or in any other suitable manner. Theconference calling center 14 is responsible for forwarding all pertinentcommunications, voice and data, from any of the client devices 12 toany/all of the other client devices 12 in a manner known in the art. Thecommunications channel 16 may be a telephone network, a local or widearea Ethernet network, the Internet, or any other communications medium,or combination thereof, over which voice data can be transmitted. Eachclient device 12 is operated by a user 18 and may comprise, for example,a phone system, computer workstation, cell phone, etc. Although thepresent invention will be described with regard to the illustrativeconference calling system 10 depicted in FIG. 1, it will be apparentthat the present invention can be configured for use with virtually anynow known or later developed conference calling system. In addition, thepresent invention can be applied to Voice Over IP (VoIP).

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as shown inFIG. 2, the conference calling center 14 includes an identificationsystem 20 for providing a graphical representation (e.g., image,animation, etc.) corresponding to each user 18 participating in aconference call. The identification system 20 includes a calleridentification (ID) system 22 for determining what phone numbers arecalling into the conference call at any given time and a matching system24 for associating one or more graphical representations 26 stored in a(secure) repository 28 to each phone number obtained by the caller IDsystem 22. This can be done, for example, using one or more databases 30(e.g., stored in the repository 28) containing entries correlating phonenumbers, users 18, and graphical representation 26. For example, adatabase 30 may include an entry associating the number 555-555-5555 toJohn Smith and another entry associating John Smith to a particulargraphical representation 26 (e.g., a photo of John Smith's face) storedin the repository 28. The graphical representation 26 of each user 18can be obtained from a corporate directory, supplied by each user 18, orprovided in any other suitable manner. The graphical representation 26can also include a name or other identifier (e.g., employee number) tofacilitate the visual identification of the user 18.

The identification system 20 further includes a distribution system 32for distributing the graphical representations 26 provided by thematching system 24 to a predetermined set of users 18 participating inthe conference call. The predetermined set of users 18 can include, forexample, one user 18 (e.g., the moderator of the conference call), aplurality of users 18, or all of the users 18 participating in theconference call. The graphical representations 26 can be distributed,for example, to a registered application 34 (e.g., a Web page displayedin a Web browser, an e-meeting application, an instant messaging (IM)application, etc.) running on the respective client devices 12.

The identification system 20 is configured to continuously monitor theusers 18 participating in a conference call and to continuously updatethe distributed graphical representations 26. This allows thepredetermined set of users 18 receiving the distributed graphicalrepresentations 26 to see who has entered (or who is attempting toenter) and exited the conference call in “real time.” Alternatively, theidentification system 20 can be configured to periodically monitor(e.g., once per minute) the users 18 participating in the conferencecall and to periodically update the distributed graphicalrepresentations 26 as necessary.

A plurality of graphical representations 26 can be associated with asingle phone number. This could be the case, for example, when a groupof users 18 at a particular location (e.g., in a conference room) areparticipating in a conference call. In this case, graphicalrepresentations 26 corresponding to all of the users 18 in the group ofusers 18 would be distributed. For example, if the group of users 18includes User 1, User 2, and User 3, then the distributed graphicalrepresentations 26 would include the graphical representations 26associated with User 1, User 2, and User 3. Alternatively, a graphicalrepresentation 26 representative of the group of users 18 (e.g.,associated with a “leader” of the group of users 18) could bedistributed. In this case, it is assumed that the leader can guaranteethat the other people in the group of users 18 are supposed to be partof the conference call.

If the matching system 24 is unable to match a graphical representation26 to a phone number determined by the caller ID system 22, or if thecaller has blocked caller ID, the distribution system 32 distributes anotification 36 to that effect to the moderator of the conference calland/or other predetermined user(s) 18. The notification 36 advises themoderator that an unidentified user 18 is attempting to join or hasjoined the conference call. The notification 36 can comprise a textualmessage, an icon indicating an unidentified user 18, etc. In response,the moderator can ask the unidentified user 18 to identify themselves.As will be discussed in greater detail below, voice recognition can beused to verify the identity of the unidentified user 18 and to associatethat user 18 with a graphical representation 26, which is thendistributed to the predetermined set of users 18. The moderator canchoose to end the conference call at any time if he/she is notcomfortable with the presence of an unidentified user 18.

The identification system 20 further includes a tracking system 38. Thetracking system 38 is configured to track, among other possible data,the users 18 on a conference call (e.g., to provide a participant list),the location from which each user 18 is calling from, and the time ofparticipation of each user on the conference call. This data is providedin a log 40 and stored in repository 28. The log 40 can be provided bythe distribution system 32 to one or more users 18 (e.g., to themoderator of the conference call).

An illustrative flow diagram 50 of a process in accordance with thepresent invention is depicted in FIG. 3. The flow diagram 50 will bedescribed below with reference to the system components illustrated inFIG. 2.

In step S1, a user 18 calls into a conference call. In step S2, thecaller-ID system 22 attempts to obtain the phone number of the user 18.If it is determined in step S3 that the caller-ID system 22 hassuccessfully obtained a phone number, then in step S4 the matchingsystem 24 attempts to match the phone number with one or more graphicalrepresentations 26 stored in the repository 28 and associated with thephone number. If, in step S3, the caller-ID system 22 can not obtain thephone number of the user 18 (e.g., the phone number is caller-IDblocked), then flow passes to step S5, where the moderator is notifiedthat an unidentified user 18 is attempting to join the conference call.

If it is determined in step S6 that the matching system 24 hassuccessfully matched the phone number of the user 18 to one or moregraphical representations 26, then the one or more matching graphicalrepresentations 26 are retrieved from the repository 28 in step S7 andare distributed by the distribution system 32 to a predetermined set ofusers 18 participating in the conference call in step S8. Flow thenreturns to step S1. If a successful match was not found in step S6, themoderator is notified in step S5 that no matching graphicalrepresentations 26 exist.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, theidentification system 20 further includes a voiceidentification/recognition system 42 for identifying a user 18 who iscalling into a conference call. The voice identification/recognitionsystem 42 can be used in conjunction with the caller ID system 22 or canbe used separately to identify a user 18 calling into a conference call.The voice identification/recognition system 22 can perform “voiceidentification,” where the vocal characteristics of a user 18 arematched against known vocal characteristics to identify the user 18,and/or can perform “voice recognition,” where a word or series of wordsspecific to a user are recognized.

The voice identification/recognition system 42 is used to verify theidentify of a user 18 calling into a conference call. In particular,each user 18 records a “voice key” 44 off-line and then submits thevoice key 44 to the repository 28 where it is stored in association withthe identity of the user 18. The voice key 44 can comprise a singlespoken word (e.g., a password), a series of words (e.g., the full nameof the user), a sentence (e.g., “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazydog.”), etc. The voice keys 44 can be unique for each user 18 (e.g., thevoice key 44 comprises the name of the user 18 or a unique personalidentification number (PIN)). Alternatively, all users 18 can record thesame voice key 44. To enhance security, the user 18 can access therepository 28 for storage of the voice key 44 using a log-in procedure(e.g., username/password) or other suitable security protocol.

When a user 18 attempts to join a conference call, the voiceidentification/recognition system 42 queries the user 18 (e.g., via arecorded message) to speak their voice key 44. The voiceidentification/recognition system 42 then compares the spoken voice key44 against the voice keys 44 stored in the repository 28. If a matchingvoice key 44 is found, the user 18 who is attempting to join theconference call is identified as the user 18 associated with thematching voice key 44. The graphical representation 26 corresponding tothe identified user 18 is then retrieved from the repository 28 anddistributed by the distribution system 32 to the predetermined set ofusers 18. If the identified user 18 is a leader of a group of users 18at a particular location (e.g., in a conference room), it is assumedthat the leader can guarantee that the other people in the group ofusers 18 are supposed to be participating in the conference call.

For added security, the caller ID system 22 and matching system 24 canbe used to obtain the phone number of the user 18 who is attempting tojoin the conference call and to retrieve a graphical representation 26corresponding to the phone number from the repository 28. The graphicalrepresentation 26 associated with the matching voice key 44 and thegraphical representation 26 associated with the phone number obtained bythe caller ID system 22 can then be compared. If the two graphicalrepresentations 26 are the same, then the user 18 is allowed to join theconference call and the graphical representation 26 is distributed. Ifnot, the distribution system 32 distributes a suitable notification 36regarding the unidentified user 18 to the moderator of the conferencecall and/or other predetermined user(s) 18. The moderator can thendecide whether or not to allow the user 18 to join the conference call.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, thevoice keys 44 stored in the repository 28 are downloaded and stored in alocal server 46. Then, instead of performing the voice identificationcomparison in the conference calling center 14, the comparison isperformed on the local server 46. This may be useful, for example, ifthe security of the conference calling center 14 is suspect or does notmeet desired security requirements.

An illustrative flow diagram 60 of a process utilizing voiceidentification in accordance with the present invention is depicted inFIG. 4. The flow diagram 60 will be described below with reference tothe system components illustrated in FIG. 2.

In step S11, a user 18 calls into a conference call. In step S12, thevoice identification/recognition system 42 queries the user 18 (e.g.,via a recorded message) to speak their voice key 44. In step S13, thevoice identification/recognition system 42 compares the spoken voice key44 against the voice keys 44 stored in the repository 28. If, in stepS14, a matching voice key 44 is found, the user 18 who is attempting tojoin the conference call is identified in step S15 as the user 18associated with the matching voice key 44. If not, the moderator isnotified in step S16 that an unidentified user 18 is attempting to jointhe conference call. The graphical representation 26 corresponding tothe identified user 18 is retrieved from the repository 28 in step S17and is distributed by the distribution system 32 to the predeterminedset of users 18 in step S18.

An example of the use of the voice identification/recognition system 42in conjunction with the caller ID system 22 is indicated in phantom inFIG. 4. In particular, in step S19, the graphical representation 26associated with the matching voice key 44 and the graphicalrepresentation 26 associated with the phone number obtained by thecaller ID system 22 are compared. If the graphical representations 26are found to match in step S20, then flow passes to step S18 and thegraphical representation 26 associated with the matching voice key 44 isdistributed by the distribution system 32. If a match is not found instep S20, the moderator is notified in step S16 that an unidentifieduser 18 is attempting to join the conference call. To this extent, theuser 18 will only be allowed to join the conference call if they areidentified by the voice identification/recognition system 42 and thecaller ID system 22 determines that the user 18 is calling from one ofthe specific phone numbers.

In another alternative embodiment, for added security, a voice key 44 ofa user 18 can be associated with one or more specific phone numbers(locations). For example, a first voice key 44 of a user 18 may beassociated with an office phone number while a second voice key 44 ofthe user 18 may be associated with a cell phone number. Alternatively, asingle voice key 44 may be associated with all phone numbers. Further, apredetermined voice key 44 can be used when a phone number is notassociated with a voice key 44 (e.g., the user 18 calls into aconference call while on a business trip).

A computer system 100 for implementing a conference calling systemincluding an identification system 20 in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention is depicted in FIG. 5. Computer system 100 isprovided in a computer infrastructure 102. Computer system 100 isintended to represent any type of computer system capable of carryingout the teachings of the present invention. For example, computer system100 can be a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a workstation, ahandheld device, a server, a cluster of computers, etc. In addition, aswill be further described below, computer system 100 can be deployedand/or operated by a service provider that provides a service fordisplaying images of conference call participants in accordance with thepresent invention. It should be appreciated that a user 104 can accesscomputer system 100 directly, or can operate a computer system thatcommunicates with computer system 100 over a network 106 (e.g., theInternet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), avirtual private network (VPN), etc). In the case of the latter,communications between computer system 100 and a user-operated computersystem can occur via any combination of various types of communicationslinks. For example, the communication links can comprise addressableconnections that can utilize any combination of wired and/or wirelesstransmission methods. Where communications occur via the Internet,connectivity can be provided by conventional TCP/IP sockets-basedprotocol, and an Internet service provider can be used to establishconnectivity to the Internet.

Computer system 100 is shown including a processing unit 108, a memory110, a bus 112, and input/output (I/O) interfaces 114. Further, computersystem 100 is shown in communication with external devices/resources 116and one or more storage systems 118. In general, processing unit 108executes computer program code, such as identification system 20, thatis stored in memory 110 and/or storage system(s) 118. While executingcomputer program code, processing unit 108 can read and/or write data,to/from memory 110, storage system(s) 118, and/or I/O interfaces 114.Bus 112 provides a communication link between each of the components incomputer system 100. External devices/resources 116 can comprise anydevices (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, display (e.g., display 120,printer, etc.) that enable the user 104 to interact with computer system100 and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enablecomputer system 100 to communicate with one or more other computingdevices.

Computer infrastructure 102 is only illustrative of various types ofcomputer infrastructures that can be used to implement the presentinvention. For example, in one embodiment, computer infrastructure 102can comprise two or more computing devices (e.g., a server cluster) thatcommunicate over a network (e.g., network 106) to perform the variousprocess steps of the invention. Moreover, computer system 100 is onlyrepresentative of the many types of computer systems that can be used inthe practice of the present invention, each of which can includenumerous combinations of hardware/software. For example, processing unit108 can comprise a single processing unit, or can be distributed acrossone or more processing units in one or more locations, e.g., on a clientand server. Similarly, memory 110 and/or storage system(s) 118 cancomprise any combination of various types of data storage and/ortransmission media that reside at one or more physical locations.Further, I/O interfaces 114 can comprise any system for exchanginginformation with one or more external devices/resources 116. Stillfurther, it is understood that one or more additional components (e.g.,system software, communication systems, cache memory, etc.) not shown inFIG. 5 can be included in computer system 100. However, if computersystem 100 comprises a handheld device or the like, it is understoodthat one or more external devices/resources 116 (e.g., display 120)and/or one or more storage system(s) 118 can be contained withincomputer system 100, and not externally as shown.

Storage system(s) 118 can be any type of system (e.g., a database)capable of providing storage for information under the presentinvention. Such information can include, for example, databases 30,graphical representations 26, logs 40, voice keys 44, etc. To thisextent, storage system(s) 118 can include one or more storage devices,such as a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive. In anotherembodiment, storage system(s) 118 can include data distributed across,for example, a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) or astorage area network (SAN) (not shown). Moreover, although not shown,computer systems operated by user 104 can contain computerizedcomponents similar to those described above with regard to computersystem 100.

Shown in memory 110 (e.g., as a computer program product) is anidentification system 20 in accordance with the present invention. Theidentification system 20 includes a caller ID system 22 for determiningwhat phone numbers are calling into a conference call at any given timeand a matching system 24 for associating one or more graphicalrepresentations 26, stored in storage unit 118, to each phone numberobtained by the caller ID system 22. The identification system 20 alsoincludes a distribution system 32 for distributing the graphicalrepresentations 26 provided by the matching system 24 to a predeterminedset of users 18 participating in the conference call (e.g., themoderator of the conference call). The identification system 20 furtherincludes a tracking system 38. The tracking system 38 is configured totrack, for example, the users 18 on a conference call (e.g., to providea participant list), the location from which each user 18 is callingfrom, and the time of participation of each user on the conference call.This data is provided in a log 40 and stored in storage unit 118. Thelog 40 can be provided by the distribution system 32 to selected users18.

As shown in FIG. 5, the identification system 20 can also include avoice identification/recognition system 42 for identifying a user 18 whois calling into a conference call. The voice identification/recognitionsystem 42 can be used in conjunction with the caller ID system 22, orseparately therefrom, to identify a user 18 calling into a conferencecall. When a user 18 attempts to join a conference call, the voiceidentification/recognition system 42 queries the user 18 (e.g., via arecorded message) to speak their voice key 44. The voiceidentification/recognition system 42 then compares the spoken voice key44 against the voice keys 44 stored in the repository 28. If a matchingvoice key 44 is found, the user 18 who is attempting to join theconference call is identified as the user 18 associated with thematching voice key 44. The graphical representation 26 corresponding tothe identified user 18 is then retrieved from the storage unit 118 anddistributed by the distribution system 32 to the predetermined set ofusers 18.

The present invention can be offered as a business method on asubscription or fee basis. For example, one or more components of thepresent invention can be created, maintained, supported, and/or deployedby a service provider that offers the functions described herein forcustomers. That is, a service provider can be used to provide a servicefor displaying images of conference call participants, as describedabove.

It should also be understood that the present invention can be realizedin hardware, software, a propagated signal, or any combination thereof.Any kind of computer/server system(s)—or other apparatus adapted forcarrying out the methods described herein—is suitable. A typicalcombination of hardware and software can include a general purposecomputer system with a computer program that, when loaded and executed,carries out the respective methods described herein. Alternatively, aspecific use computer, containing specialized hardware for carrying outone or more of the functional tasks of the invention, can be utilized.The present invention can also be embedded in a computer program productor a propagated signal, which comprises all the respective featuresenabling the implementation of the methods described herein, andwhich—when loaded in a computer system—is able to carry out thesemethods.

The invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment, or an embodiment containing both hardwareand software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the invention isimplemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware,resident software, microcode, etc.

The present invention can take the form of a computer program productaccessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium providingprogram code for use by or in connection with a computer or anyinstruction execution system. For the purposes of this description, acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium can be any apparatus thatcan contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program foruse by or in connection with the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

The medium can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device), or apropagation medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include asemiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, removable computerdiskette, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), rigidmagnetic disk and optical disk. Current examples of optical disksinclude a compact disk-read only disk (CD-ROM), a compactdisk-read/write disk (CD-R/W), and a digital versatile disk (DVD).

Computer program, propagated signal, software program, program, orsoftware, in the present context mean any expression, in any language,code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a systemhaving an information processing capability to perform a particularfunction either directly or after either or both of the following: (a)conversion to another language, code or notation; and/or (b)reproduction in a different material form.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of this inventionhas been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations arepossible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to aperson skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scopeof this invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

1. A method for displaying images of conference call participantsimplementing in a conference call system, comprising: receiving a callfrom a user to join a conference call, wherein a plurality of users areparticipating in the conference call; verifying, using a computersystem, an identity of the user who is joining the conference call usinga voice key, the verifying comprising: querying the user to speak thevoice key in response to receiving the call from the user to join theconference call; comparing the spoken voice key against a plurality ofstored voice keys to find a matching voice key, wherein each of theplurality of stored voice keys is associated with a different user; andif a matching voice key is found, identifying the user as the userassociated with the matching voice key; obtaining a phone number of eachof the plurality of users participating in the conference call using acaller identification system; matching at least one stored graphicalrepresentation to the phone number of each of the plurality of userswherein, in the case that the phone number of a user corresponds to agroup of users, the matching further comprises matching a storedgraphical representation of each user in the group of users with thephone number; distributing and displaying all matching graphicalrepresentations to all of the plurality of users that are participatingin the conference call; monitoring the plurality of users participatingin the conference call; updating the distributed graphicalrepresentations for all of the plurality of users that are participatingin the conference call when a user enters or exits the conference call;tracking at least one of: an identity of each of the plurality of usersparticipating in the conference call, a location from which each of theplurality of users participating in the conference call is calling from,and a time of participation of each of the plurality of usersparticipating in the conference call; logging results of the tracking;and notifying a moderator of the conference call that an unidentifieduser is attempting to join the conference call if the matching step isunable to match the phone number to a stored graphical representation.2. The method for displaying images of conference call participantsaccording to claim 1, the verifying further comprising: associating astored graphical representation with the matching voice key of the user;comparing the graphical representation associated with the matchingvoice key of the user with the graphical representation matched to thephone number of the user; and allowing the user to join the conferencecall if the graphical representation associated with the matching voicekey of the user is the same as the graphical representation matched tothe phone number of the user.